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For Fans of Beverly Lane (2010) – Movie Insights

Beverly Lane is a movie hybrid or something like that… It is a combination between The Office and Shaun of The Dead, as you can see, with zombies and a lot of comedy in between, but mostly weird at the end. It is directed by the first-time director Joshua Hill, who’s also the writer and producer of his own film.

The Concept

Joshua is known for being an enthusiast when it comes to zombies, and most importantly, a really smart person. However, this movie was not a masterpiece, especially because the concept of the movie wasn’t as entertaining and interesting as it should have, but still makes a wonderful impact when it comes to comedy and zombies, of course.

This movie was totally independent, with funding totally coming from his own pocket, he didn’t spend a lot of money on this one. As you can see, if you get to watch this movie, it is totally underdeveloped, with many editing and producing mistakes, but nothing too far out of the watching zone, even making a good impression if you actually like this kind of movies.

Joshua, always had the best enthusiasm while doing this movie, and that’s something that is noticeable if you watch it. This movie was pretty good for being an indie one, especially the concept had something really fun to tell us. Joshua said in an interview this about the movie and said this about where the concept came from:

“I started to think about the people who work in an office, and what would happen if a zombieapocalypse blew up while they were working alongside a big group of people with who they wouldn’t want to be with on a normal day… and less when it comes to zombies running everywhere and killing people”

As you can see, the concept is not a masterpiece by itself, but we can say that at least, it is original apart from the zombie part. It is not a total Shaun of The Dead when it comes to comedy, as it won’t make you laugh as much, but it won’t either bore you to death. It is actually a pretty good movie, even though it is totally independent and its director and creator didn’t spend much money on it, it is a really high-quality movie with comes with a genuine concept that will make more than one person laugh their ass off.

The Plot

Beverly Lane is the story about a little local metallurgic company whose employees are celebrating with a big party the retirement of their boss. In the movie, you can see that the population of this party is not only the employees but three clowns, a mime, an illusionist and a mediocre singer. This is the movie until it gets totally off by a lot and zombies start appearing and everything becomes a hell when they find out that they’re trapped.

All these characters are not as greatly developed as you think, all of them seem pretty useless and very lifeless. However, that exactly is what makes this movie a little more entertaining as they are already trying to fight the difficulties of their lives. They struggle to give an identity to the film but eventually begins with giving a kind of comedy like The Office with zombies. Yes, zombies start spreading across the city when this party is held up, and now all the employees plus the guests have to fight their way out and save themselves.

‘Technical Details’ -Beverly Lane Movie

Beverly Lane is mostly a comedy. When it comes to being a zombie movie or an action-suspenseful one, it doesn’t deliver the necessary detail and emotions to be one. However, it is still a pretty good comedy, delivering certain hilarious scenes and mostly because the script of this movie was astonishingly good.

Joshua (the director) did a pretty good job with the script and the dialogues, inserting some great popular culture into the movie in form of jokes and referencing to pretty much every film and TV show related to zombies and offices, without being boring or too pretentious.

The movie is not a tribute to other movies and series, but it has some pretty good scenes referencing to them, in the cleverest way possible. This makes it totally interesting and very enjoyable, especially for those who are fans of 2000s series like 24.

On the other hand, even when it is not a comedy by itself, its horror elements are not as bad as you would think. However, those scenes in which you will see zombies are mostly action scenes with a little of suspense, but never being too much of that. That’s why the movie is great but not as good as we think it could have been, however, it gives the best sensation you can have from a zombie movie – suspense, but at the same time, pretty good laughs!

This movie also had a pretty good cast, actors who delivered believable and funny performances that couldn’t have been better – especially for the little budget Hull had for this movie. Thereof, the movie ends up being a pretty good independent movie which delivers great performances and it is made from one of the best indie hand of the industry.

But as we already said, the movie doesn’t deliver as much emotion as we wanted. And that’s mainly because the budget was very short, especially when it comes to the special effects that were used that made the movie a little off in the action scenes, making it a little unbelievable in the whole sense, as the special effects make them look a little silly.

However, it was never going to be a big budget film, so that actually makes it a great movie for its genre and its budget, nothing to complain about it. Where most people would expect flashy effects and wonderful CGI scenes, this movie delivers funny and suspenseful moments, so it is totally worth it when it comes to being an independent comedyzombie film.

Final Verdict on Beverly Lane Movie

Beverly Lane is just pretty good when it comes to writing, directing, and what it delivers that’s very funny moments, pop-culture references and good indie ideas that are not as appreciated as they should. Moreover, it is a totally presentable movie to watch at any moment, as it will make everyone laugh and even feel a little suspense in certain moments.

Good Zombie-Comedy movie without being pretentious and overelaborated is the best way to describe this movie, as it delivers what it was made for. Joshua Hull made a pretty good job with this one, and that’s why he was rewarded with a Golden Cob in 2011 as the best Emerging Filmmaker because he delivers quality above what’s expected.